The General Coordination of Immigration (CGIg) of the Ministry of Labor granted 28,658 work permits to foreigners residing in Brazil in 2016. Most were granted to men, who received 25,393 permits, compared to only 3,265 for women.
In 2016, the majority of work permits were granted to nationals from the USA: 3,952. Other leading countries in terms of recipients included the Philippines (2,841), the United Kingdom (1,844), India (1,675), Italy (1,664), Spain (1,389), Germany (1,228), and France (1,204). Of the 28,658 permits issued in 2016, about half (15,993) were for workers with higher education.
The majority of immigrants who received permission to settle permanently in Brazil are from Ghana (397), Senegal (226), and Bangladesh (123). Almost all are men — 1,050, compared to 106 women.
The work permit is a prerequisite for foreign nationals to apply for a work visa in Brazil. Unlike cases of humanitarian visas, whose applicants are predominantly from poor countries with low levels of education, work permits are generally requested by people from developed countries with some level of academic training.